


Intricate Rituals

by Theamazingannie



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, First Kiss, M/M, Mutual Pining, everyone knows except them of course, everyone stays in derry cuz I said so, two dumb idiots in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-27
Updated: 2019-09-27
Packaged: 2020-10-29 03:41:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20790026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Theamazingannie/pseuds/Theamazingannie
Summary: Eddie and Richie always found some way to touch each other.





	Intricate Rituals

**Author's Note:**

> What I should be doing: finishing that multi-chapter reddie fic.  
What I did instead: wrote this.
> 
> I honestly just love the whole "intricate rituals" concept and it fits reddie perfectly.

Everything was good, great even. The Losers were alive. Pennywise was gone. Even school was going alright. What made it even better was the clubhouse. The clubhouse was the best idea that any of them had ever had. It was a place for them to hang out after school, to do homework (or, more realistically, to avoid homework), and to just relax and have fun with each other. Ben was a genius. The best thing was the hammock. It had been such a simple thing at the beginning, just a cool place to relax for the allotted ten minutes. It had gotten even better after the day when Eddie had impulsively decided to get into the hammock with Richie. He had been annoyed at Richie's blatant ignoring of the rules and had simply wanted to annoy him back. It was their thing, annoying each other. As soon as he got in, he realized it was so much more than annoying. In fact, it had been the opposite. Eddie had loved it. The closeness of their bodies, Richie's hand on his bare leg. It was almost too much to handle. If Eddie couldn't tell Richie about his feelings, at least he could have that. And that he had. After that day, it became a usual thing for them to climb into the hammock together. No matter who got there first, the other wouldn't hesitate to jump in. Sure, they still had to fight with the others for use of the hammock, but they never had to fight with each other. It was just assumed that if one was in the hammock, the other would be, too. It was Eddie's favorite part of any given day.

One evening, after dinner, Eddie begged his mom to let him hang out at Bill's house. He never told her about the clubhouse; she would never let him go if she knew he was hanging out in an underground bunker in the woods, one that was usually covered in bugs and dust. He didn't even think about it anymore. Going to the clubhouse meant seeing his friends. Going to the clubhouse meant seeing Richie.

As soon as he climbed down the ladder into the clubhouse, his shoulders slumped with disappointment. Bill was in the hammock, sketchbook in hand. Ben and Mike were playing a card game in the corner. Richie wasn't there yet. Eddie dropped down onto the swing, trying to figure out some other way to get close to Richie.

The latch opened and Richie came down, followed by Stan. Stan already had his shower cap on and was insisting to Richie that he put his on, too. "Your hair is so dark that you won't even notice," Stan told him. "I'm just trying to help you."

"I'm not afraid of spiders, Stanley."

"I can't believe you're not afraid of spiders, but you're afraid of-" He stopped short, glancing at Eddie. Richie looked almost as terrified as he'd been the first time they went to Niebolt. "Sorry, Richie."

"What are you afraid of, Rich?" Eddie knew about the fear of clowns and of going missing, but he figured that was it. Richie wasn't the type of person to be afraid of much. Unlike Eddie, who was afraid of everything.

Richie coughed. "Afraid your mom won't like me as much with a shower cap on my head." He said it in his usual Richie style, but Eddie could tell there was more to the story. He tried to make eye contact with Stan, but he was intentionally avoiding him, choosing to sit on the floor next to Bill and pull out his book. Richie pulled something out of his pocket and tossed it to Eddie before dropping down into the chair by the swing.

Eddie scrambled for the object and smiled when he realized it was an ice cream bar. Then he scowled. "Wait, was this in your pants this whole time?"

Richie opened his own ice cream. "I know. Not the thing you want from my pants, but I figured it was an alright substitute."

Eddie's heart skipped a beat and he could feel his cheeks turn red. He saw Stan and Bill exchange a look. "What? I don't want anything from your pants. That's disgusting."

"Fine, then give your ice cream back. I'll eat it."

Eddie quickly opened it and licked it. "No way. It's mine."

"Did you get the rest of us ice creams, Rich?" Mike asked, a small smile on his face.

"I, uh, didn't know you wanted one," Richie said. "Eddie asked for one earlier." Eddie knew that wasn't true, but he didn't like the way Mike rolled his eyes or the way Bill and Stan exchanged a look and then snickered.

Eddie frowned, eating his ice cream in silence. Richie was also uncharacteristically quiet, reading a comic he had stashed somewhere. The only sounds were Mike and Ben's whispering about their game, Bill's pencil on paper, and Stan turning the pages of his book. It was an unusually quiet evening, but Eddie kind of liked it. It wasn't often they had a peaceful evening to relax. Of course, he wasn't a fan of the fact that he was on the swing alone rather than in the hammock with Richie.

As if reading his mind, Richie stood up to approach Bill. "I think your time is up, Big Bill. There are rules for a reason."

Bill exchanged another look with Stan. "Uh, yeah, but S-stan said he w-wanted the next turn." He hopped out of the hammock and Stan hurried in. Bill replaced Stan's previous spot on the floor. "Y-you're welcome to j-join him in there, Richie. Or is that only r-reserved for some m-members of the Club?"

Richie glanced back at Eddie before glaring at the two of them. He cleared his throat. "Whatever. I'm bored. Let's do something."

"I _am _doing something," Stan said, holding up his book. Bill held up his sketchbook and Mike held up his cards. Richie groaned, dropping back into the chair.

Eddie finished up his ice cream and tossed it into the trash, completely missing it. He sighed, getting up to grab it at the same time Richie did, and their hands touched briefly. Richie quickly moved his hand away to let Eddie take care of it, but Eddie could still feel his touch on his skin. "Wanna arm wrestle?" he blurted, slightly too loud. He coughed. "You know, for something to do?"

Richie adjusted his glasses. "Yeah. Sure. Even though I'm going to rip you apart with these massive muscles." Eddie rolled his eyes. They cleared off a spot on the table with the stereo and Richie readied his arm. Eddie eyed the table warily. It was rough, unfinished. He was certain to get a splinter if he touched it. Richie, once again reading his mind, took off the stupid Hawaiian shirt he always wore over his t-shirt and laid it over the table like a table cloth. Eddie coughed into his elbow to try to hide the smile that appeared on his face.

The two of them readied their arms, clasping their hands together. Eddie felt that same tingle he always did when they touched. "Okay, on the count of three," Richie told him. "One...two...three!" Eddie pushed with all his strength but was pretty quickly pinned down by Richie. Richie smiled smugly at him.

"I wasn't ready!" Eddie lied. He really didn't like how quickly Richie beat him, at least partly because it meant it was over too soon. "Best two out of three?"

Richie rolled his eyes but returned his arm to its ready position. Eddie grabbed his hand again, trying to steady his breathing, hoping to last longer this time. Richie counted them off again and this time Eddie could tell he was holding back. When he won, he almost wanted to roll his eyes and bitch him out for letting him win. But it did mean that they would have to do the third round to see who the winner was. They readied their arms one last time, both staring intensely at the other. Just as Richie was counting down, the latch opened one last time. Eddie took this moment of Richie's distraction to slam his hand down, jumping up with victory.

"I am the champion!" he shouted.

"What?" Richie exclaimed. "You cheated! Bev distracted me!"

Bev, who had just finished climbing down the ladder, put her hands up. "Don't blame me for your weakness."

Eddie smiled at her and she smiled back. "See? Bev gets it. Distraction is a weakness that you fell for. I won fair and square."

"What...but...none of that was fair!" Eddie had to admit that he loved watching Richie all erratic like this, fumbling for words. "I want a rematch!"

Bev shook her head, laughing. "You guys are so ridiculous. I really don't understand how...never mind." She moved to go join Mike and Ben.

Richie stared after her. "Understand what?"

The other Losers all looked at each other. "Nothing," Beverly told him. "It's nothing. Really."

Eddie was surprised when Richie stormed over to Stan, looking furious. "Did you tell everyone? I trusted you, Stan! How could you?"

Stan put his hands up, dropping his book on the floor. He looked slightly frightened. "I didn't tell anyone. I swear. They all figured it out on their own."

"Figured what out?" Eddie asked quietly.

"It's true, R-richie," Bill said. "I've known since f-forever. I've t-talked to Stan about it since b-before you t-told him."

"Told him what?" Eddie asked. He was starting to feel very left out right then. What was it that everyone else seemed to know except him?

"So you've just been talking about me behind my back? Laughing about what an idiot Richie Tozier is? Huh? You guys are the worst friends in the entire world!" Richie was looking seriously panicked now, breathing heavily and running his hands through his hair.

"Richie," Beverly said in a calm, stern voice. "Please calm down. Nobody meant to hurt you. We want you to feel comfortable telling us things. No one is judging you here. No one cares that-"

"Fuck you! None of you know a goddamn thing!" Richie finally had enough and ran to the ladder, quickly climbing out despite everyone calling after him. Stan had gotten out of the hammock and was sitting on the floor, head in his hands. Bill was comforting him and Mike quickly joined him. Beverly and Ben were both stood up, staring after Richie even though he was probably long gone at this point.

Eddie looked at everyone, more confused than he'd been in his entire life. "What the hell just happened? Is anyone here gonna let me in on what the fuck is going on?"

Everyone looked at him like they had forgotten he was there. They all glanced at each other. Ben was the one who finally spoke up. "I think maybe you should go talk to him, Eddie. You're the only one here he doesn't hate right now."

Bev squatted down. "Shit! I'm such an idiot! I shouldn't have pushed him like that."

"Don't b-blame yourself, Bev," Bill told her. "W-we've all kind of b-been assholes."

Eddie still didn't know what was happening. "What are you all talking about? Why would Richie hate you? What did you do?"

"We didn't do anything," Mike said. "It's what he thinks we did. You should go talk to him."

"Okay?" Eddie realized no one here was going to tell him anything, so his best bet at the moment was Richie. He climbed up the ladder and left the clubhouse. He expected to find just the empty woods, but he saw Richie sitting down, leaning against a tree, crying. "Richie? What's wrong?"

He started to move closer, but Richie jumped up when he saw him, muttered, "Fuck," and started running in the opposite direction.

"Richie!" Eddie shrieked, taking off after him. It felt like he was chasing him for hours, but it was really only a few minutes considering where they were. He could see the kissing bridge up ahead. Richie was halfway across it, Eddie trailing too far behind. He was never going to catch him at this rate. His lungs were already dying and his legs felt like they couldn't move anymore. Richie was powered by some internal source that Eddie did not have access to. He was just about to give up when his foot caught on the edge of one of the boards halfway across the bridge and he fell, tumbling a couple of times before coming to a stop. He banged his head on the bottom of the railing and his knees were killing him; he was definitely scraped up. The worst was that he had landed on his bad arm, still covered by the cast, a smaller one than his LOVER one. He was almost at the end of his forced cast wearing; he really hoped he didn't mess it up so badly he'd need more time.

He was certain at that point that he had officially lost Richie when there he was, kneeling over him. "Oh, fuck, Eds, are you okay?"

Eddie groaned, unsure which part of his body hurt the worst. "That was almost as bad as my fall in Niebolt," he complained.

Richie's hands hovered over Eddie, appearing unsure what to do. "God, shit, Eddie, fuck. What do you need? Can you stand? Do you need a hospital? Should I go find a phone and call an ambulance? Should I go back and get the others? I don't know if I can carry you. I'll need help. Mike looks strong, right? He could probably carry you. He helped you after Niebolt. I gotta go get help."

Eddie grabbed his arm to keep him from going. "Jeez, Rich, I'm fine. I just...hurt. Everywhere." He moved his limbs around gently, assessing the damage. "I can probably stand. Help me up?" Richie nodded quickly and grabbed Eddie's good arm, helping him to his feet. Eddie immediately leaned back against the railing, moaning. He felt dizzy and he leaned against Richie for support.

"Should I take you home?"

Eddie shivered. "Absolutely not. If I come home like this, my mother will never let me out of the house again." He winced. "I just need to sit down for a minute." Richie nodded and helped him back down. He laid his head against the railing, closing his eyes and breathing softly. When he opened them again, he saw Richie staring at a spot just above his head, his face paler than usual. When Eddie turned his head to look, Richie pressed against the scrape on Eddie's knee, causing him to yelp in pain.

"Sorry," Richie muttered.

"What the hell is going on with you today? Why is everyone being so fucking weird? First, everyone keeps making all these weird comments. Then you yell at Stan and everyone else and then leave. And then everyone tells me that I need to talk to you, but you run away before I can. I don't get it. Did I do something wrong? Are you mad at me?"

"No!" Richie said quickly. "It's not you at all. It's me. It's my fault. I...fuck!" He stood up, running his hands through his hair again and pacing up and down the bridge. Eddie took that moment to turn to the spot behind him that Richie had been staring at and he froze, staring at it. His breath turned shallow and his cheeks felt warm. There was no way it was real. His eyes were playing tricks on him. There was no way the kissing bridge had the initials "R+E" carved into them. There was no way that Richie had carved that. There was absolutely no way that "E" stood for...

"Eddie!" Richie practically shouted, turning back to him. He was breathing heavily and his eyes looked watery. "It's not what it looks like. Those initials could mean anything. I didn't even write that. Why would I? I don't even know anyone whose name starts with an 'E.'" Eddie almost laughed at how bad Richie was lying right now, but he was too frozen in shock. All he could think was that Richie was lying and the only reason he would have to lie is if the "E" was...Eddie. And he wasn't capable of processing that information at the moment.

"I...I...Fuck, Richie!" Eddie put his hands to his mouth, trying to control his breathing. He really wished he had his inhaler at the moment. He knew he didn't need it but, damn, it was a good coping mechanism. "When did you write that?"

"I didn't write that."

"Okay, I know you're lying, dumbass, so can you cut the bullshit and answer my goddamn question?"

Richie cleared his throat, looking anywhere but at Eddie. He was fidgeting so hard with his fingers, Eddie was afraid he was going to rip them off. "This summer," Richie muttered. "Shortly after the first time at Niebolt."

Eddie stared at him. "You mean to tell me our initials have been on this bridge for two fucking months and I'm just now noticing? I've walked across this bridge _how many _times and I just now noticed that my best friend carved our fucking initials into it?"

"Fuck. I'm sorry. It was a stupid and impulsive thing to do and I shouldn't have done it and I don't even know why I did it but I just did cuz I didn't know what else to do cuz I couldn't tell you cuz, of course, you wouldn't feel the same way about me like why would you? You're too nice and clean and perfect to ever do anything as dirty and impure as liking me and-"

"The fuck are you talking about?" Eddie interrupted. He couldn't believe the words he was hearing. He thought he must be imagining that as well seeing as how nonsensical Richie was being.

"W-what?" Richie asked.

"What makes you think I don't like you?" Eddie realized how angry he was. Not at Richie, exactly, but at what Richie was saying. What the fuck did he know about Eddie? Nothing apparently. "You dumbass. Like I couldn't like you."

"_W-what_?" Richie repeated. He was staring at Eddie with such a dumb expression that Eddie had to laugh. He had finally accomplished his goal in life of making Richie speechless.

"You heard me," Eddie continued. "Maybe I like you, too. You ever think about that? Huh?" Richie's mouth moved soundlessly, forming that same word again. "Don't you fucking dare say 'what' again you coward. Get over here and kiss me."

Richie stared at him for a few more moments before slowly walking over and kneeling down next to Eddie. When he didn't move any closer, Eddie rolled his eyes and grabbed the top of Richie's stupid t-shirt and pulled him closer, pressing his lips to his. It was something he imagined doing a thousand times but never thought he'd ever actually get to do. He may have called Richie a coward, but he had been one, too. Maybe if he hadn't been so afraid of being rejected and losing his best friend, he would've realized that he didn't have to be afraid at all. They were two dumb losers who probably deserved each other after everything they'd been through.

Eddie pulled back after what felt like forever but in reality, was probably only a few seconds. The two stared at each other, breathing heavily, only inches apart. Eddie had no idea what to say. What were you supposed to say after kissing your longtime best friend for the first time after pining after him for years?

"Okay," Richie whispered. Well, not that, that was for sure.

"Okay?" Eddie asked. "What the fuck does that mean?"

"Well, for starters, your mom kisses better than that." Richie grinned.

Eddie rolled his eyes, pushing Richie back. He tried to catch himself but failed, falling on his back. He started laughing then, kind of hysterically, and Eddie joined in after a moment. It felt good to laugh after being so tense for so long. It felt like a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders that he hadn't even known was there.

They stayed like that for a while, Eddie leaning against the railing, Richie laying on the ground. They didn't say anything, but at one point one of them had grabbed the other's hand and they started playing with each other's fingers. It was the sort of simple touching they'd been doing for forever, looking for an excuse to be close to each other. Eddie had known for a while why he wanted to; now he knew why Richie let him.

He hated to say it, but he knew he had to. "We should probably get back to the clubhouse. Everyone is probably worried about us. You didn't exactly leave in good spirits."

Richie groaned. "Fuck. I should probably apologize for being a dick."

"Especially to Stan. He seemed pretty upset about what you said to him." Richie groaned again. "I'm guessing he was the only one you told? Ab-bout me?" It still felt weird saying it. The idea that Richie Tozier liked him back was too much to comprehend.

Richie nodded. "We hung out a lot after me and Bill fought and your mom locked you away. We were talking one day about the Losers Club and it just kinda...slipped out. He promised he wouldn't tell anybody, but I guess he didn't need to. Apparently my effort to try and hide it didn't work. Everyone found out."

"Everyone except me. Guess I'm too dumb to notice anything."

Richie sat up, grabbing onto Eddie's hand. "Hey, I didn't notice, either. Does that make us the dumbest two in the Losers Club?"

"You've always been the dumbest in the Losers Club."

"Hey!" Richie said, dropping Eddie's hand. "You're the one who thinks he has every disease in the book." He stood up, offering his hand to Eddie.

Eddie took it and allowed himself to be pulled up. "You literally have an IQ of zero."

"You let Greta write 'loser' on your cast."

"You do stupid accents and say the first thing that comes into your brain."

They continued like that, lobbying insults back and forth, all the way back to the clubhouse. They also never stopped holding hands the whole way. That was what they did, insulting each other while simultaneously finding every excuse they could to touch each other. Eddie hoped that never ended. He loved their intricate rituals. Although now he didn't have to hide his intentions behind them.

When they returned to the clubhouse, Eddie climbed down first. The other Losers were all sitting in a circle in front of the hammock, Bev having sat next to Bill and Ben on the other side of Mike. They were talking softly to each other. From what Eddie could hear, it was about them. They were so distracted with each other that they didn't notice him come in. "Whatcha guys doing?" he asked.

They all jumped, looking over at him. "Did you find Richie?" Bev asked.

Right on cue, Richie dropped down. "I wouldn't say he found me," Richie said. "More like tripped and fell on his dumb butt and I had to come rescue him."

"Okay, that is _not_ what happened."

"Oh, so you didn't fall?" Eddie didn't answer. "That's what I thought." Everyone continued staring at the two of them. Stan's face was red and puffy. Richie's face softened when he saw him and he walked over, dropping down in between Bill and Stan. He wrapped his arms around the latter, laying his head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry for yelling at you, Stanley. I was scared and took it out on you. You are not one of the worst friends ever. You're one of the best because you noticed something about me that I didn't even know myself, and even when I hated myself for it, you stuck by me." He lifted his head. "You all did. Thank you." He took a deep breath. "I'm gay. And in love with Eddie. For some reason."

Eddie, who had been watching this scene with a smile on his face, frowned. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"Here we go again," Bev muttered.

Before Richie could reply, Mike cut them off. "Let's just enjoy this beautiful moment together, loving every part of each other, even the parts of ourselves that we don't always like."

"Group hug!" Ben shouted.

"Yes!" Richie said, grabbing Stan and Bill's necks and pulling them towards him. Everyone else quickly joined in. Eddie stayed back where he stood by the ladder. Richie noticed and frowned. "What are you doing over there, Eds? Come join the love!"

Eddie shook his head. "Uh-uh. Your breaths are all blowing on each other. That's a lot of extra bacteria I don't want anywhere near me."

Richie pulled away from the group, slowly walking up to Eddie. A sly grin appeared on his face. "How much bacteria do you think is exchanged during...kissing?"

Eddie's eyes widened as Richie stepped closer. "Don't you fucking touch me-gah!" He darted away as Richie grabbed for him, chasing him around the clubhouse as the others watched in amusement. Eventually, Richie caught him, and Eddie screamed at him to get away, but all Richie did was kiss him softly on the nose and Eddie melted. Was this what life would be like from now on? He sure hoped so.

"Don't I get a reward for catching you?" Richie asked quietly.

"You get to keep existing in my presence is what you get," Eddie told him, but he couldn't resist the temptation to pull Richie down to him and kiss him.

He pulled away when he heard gagging sounds and turned to find Stan scowling at them. "Is this what we have to put up with from now on? Remind me again why we wanted them together."

"You know you love us, Stanley," Richie told him. He made some weird gesture with his eyes and suddenly he had one of Eddie's arm and Bev had the other and he was being pulled into the middle of another group hug. He felt panicky as he thought about the bacteria in the air and their bodies pressed so closely against his until he made eye contact with Richie and Richie smiled and suddenly everything was fine. He settled into the hug, his hand finding Richie's and he held on tight.

Then Stan made a comment about hating them all and they laughed and dispersed and Eddie made a beeline for the hammock, Richie at his heels. They piled in together, this time facing the same way, faces pressed up close to each other, Richie's arms around him. He ignored the eyes and the whispers and the laughter from the others. All that mattered was that Richie was there and touching him like he always wanted. Everything was good.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think! I've noticed that I have a trend of Eddie kissing first. Idk why I like that so much, but it will probably not change. Also, I'm so much better at angsty one-shots (that is to say, I actually finish them), so I will probably only be doing these from now on. We will see. I'm not good at keeping promises.
> 
> Side note: I almost deleted this fic when I was copying it over cuz I'm a dumb fuck and it's nearly 2am. It's time for bed...


End file.
